Stethoscope



Oct. 14, 1941. A. DAX 2,258,743

STETHOSCOPE Filed April 7, 1939 M I mmmn Patented Oct. 14, 1941 STETHOSCOPE Albert Dax, Budapest, Hungary Application April 7, 1939, Serial No. 266,483 In Hungary October 9, 1937 3 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved stethoscope.

The stethoscopes employed in medical auscultation consist as a rule of a hollow sound collector applied to the part of the body which is to be sounded and of a sound conveying tube of rigid or flexible material which in the latter case will frequently be branched into a Y-shape. The customary sound collectors greatly vary with respect to their material and thickness of wall, accordingly their mass, too, varies within wide limits, the more so since some physicians would prefer stethoscopes with bulky sound collectors while others would only use thin-walled and light devices.

It has been found that one type of characteristic sounds such as those of the heart, those experienced in the case of inflammations of the serous membrane, etc., may better be auscultated with the aid of bulky sound collectors whereas another type of characteristic sounds, for instance those of breathing, particularly bronchial breathing and sonorous ronchi, are better sounded with thin-walled devices.

The invention relates to a stethoscope having a sound-collector which by a simple manipulation may be rendered bulky or light according to requirement. Accordingly it may be used equally well in the case of any kind of sounds, and auscultations achieved with the bulky sound collector and such performed with the light sound collector may follow each other almost without interruption, that is to say, without loss of time.

The stethoscope according to the invention comprises, in addition to a thin-walled light sound-collector, a member which is relatively massy in comparison to the masses coming into consideration in the present case so that it would not be set into oscillation by the internal sounds of the body under auscultation. This member can be brought into two different positions; in its effective position it will rest against the wall of the sound collector constituting one body with the latter, in its released position it will have no direct contact with the wall of the sound collector but may rest against the end of the sound collector which is joined to the sound conveying tube or against the intermediate piece assembling sound collector and sound conveyor or against the sound conveying tube itself.

Preferably this bulky member is so configurated that in its effective position it will rest by the intermediate of a rubber ring against the body part under auscultation.

The drawing shows, partly in sectional view,

the essential parts of a stethoscope in accordance with the invention. Fig. 1 represents the bulky member in its effective position, Fig. 2 shows it when it is released.

The thin-walled sound collector a is connected to the flexible rubber tube 0 leading to the ear of the observer by the intermediate piece I). The latter which may be made of Bakelite for instance is provided with screw threads 11 and e. The bulky member ,1 is screwed to the thread e when in the released position (Figure 2), and to the thread [1 when in the effective position (Figure 1). In the latter position the member 7 rests against the external wall surface of the sound collector a constituting one body with the latter. The rubber ring 9' provided on the element f protrudes then beyond the edge of the sound collector a so that the body part to be auscultated comes into contact with the ring. It may be seen that the member 1 may be screwed off the thread e and, after displacement in axial direction, screwed onto the thread d in a very short time, even during auscultation, i. c. it can be brought into its effective position and be released in equally short time.

Of course the bulky member I need not embrace the sound collector a. entirely, it may also be composed of several pieces spaced apart from each other, and its external surface need not be a rotation surface. Neither is it bound to rest against the sound collector wall with its entire internal surface, its contact with the former may be restricted to certain points or regions.

The exemplification of the invention described above will suggest many other ways of applying the principles underlying the invention to stethoscopes using sound collecting chambers. It is accordingly desired that the appended claims be construed broadly and that they shall not be limited to the specific details shown and described in connection with the exemplifications thereof.

I claim:

1. In a stethoscope, a sound collector member shaped to form a sound collecting chamber having relatively thin walls surrounding an opening adapted to be placed against a part of the body that is examined and a duct portion adjoining said chamber through which the sound vibrations of the chamber are conveyed to the observer; and a massive member movably mounted on the exterior of said sound collector member; the outward surface of said collector member and the inward surface of said massive member having cooperative interlocking portions for adjustably maintaining said massive member in or out of contact engagement with the thin walls of said chamber; said sound collecting chamber, and said massive member being so proportioned and designed that when said massive member is out of engagement with the chamber, said sound collector member has greater sensitivity for one type of characteristic body sounds, and that when said massive member is in engagement with said chamber, said sound collector member has greater sensitivity for another type of characteristic body sounds.

2. In a stethoscope, a sound collector member shaped to form a sound collecting chamber having relatively thin walls surrounding an opening adapted to be placed against a part of the body that is examined and a duct portion adjoining said chamber through which the sound vibrations of the chamber are conveyed to the observer; and a massive member slidably mounted on the exterior of said sound collector member; the outward surface of said collector member and the inward surface of said massive member having cooperative interlocking portions for adjustably maintaining said massive member in or out of contact engagement with the thin walls of said chamber; said sound collecting chamber, and said massive member being so proportioned and designed that when said massive member is out of engagement with the chamber, said sound collector member has greater sensitivity for one type of characteristic body sounds, and that when said massive member is in engagement with said chamber, said sound collector member has greater sensitivity for another type of characteristic body sounds.

3. In a stethoscope, a sound collector member having a relatively thin-walled hollow sound collector chamber portion and a duct portion extending therefrom; said collector member having two outwardly facing interlock portions spaced apart from each other; and a bulky member movable along the exterior of said collector member and having an inwardly facing interlock portion for establishing interlocking engagement with either one or the other outwardly facing interlock portions so that said bulky member may be adjustably maintained in or out of contact engagement with the walls of said sound collector chamber.

ALBERT DAX. 

